1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flying disc target assemblies. More particularly, the present invention relates to flying disc target assemblies that provide an audible sound upon registering the impact of the disc on the target.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flying disc golf has become extremely popular and is enjoying widespread appeal. Such games occur on courses located in parks or other recreational areas. The course consists of a number of "holes" with each "hole" having a "tee" from where each player throws a flying disc at a post or target positioned at a selected distance from the "tee." Similar to ball golf, the objective of the flying disc golf game is to hit the target with a disc in the shortest number of throws of the disc. The player with the lowest score over the course is the winner.
A typical course usually contains visual obstacles such as trees and hills between the tee and the target to make the game more challenging to the players. An unfortunate byproduct of the visual obstacles is that they make visual observation of a hit with the target quite difficult. One type of method to insure the registration of a hit is to use an entrapment device for the target. The prior art in the game of flying disc golf contains numerous references to entrapment devices, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,189, U.S. Pat. No. 4, 461,484, U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,143 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,845. An entrapment device works as its name suggests, that is the device prevents or entraps the disc from flying or deflecting away after hitting the target. The primary means for scoring a hole using an entrapment target is having the disc come to rest in the basket The actual hitting of the target is of secondary importance.
A byproduct of the entrapment design is that the sound produced by a disc hitting an entrapment device does not travel very far and is not reliable as an indicator for hitting the target at longer distances. Another and more subtle of a problem with entrapment devices is that the basket usually becomes the primary focus of the player, instead of the target top with the chains. Here the result is that the disc more often than not comes up short on distance because the player was effectively aiming too low at the target. Entrapment devices generally work as advertised, but they do not always entrap the disc. Failures to entrap the disc, especially when there is no visual observation of the target, can often lead to great commotion and discussion between the players in determining whether the disc has hit the target. When the target is not under visual observation, hearing the disc hit the target becomes the primary means for scoring the hole. The present invention, however, uses the audible sound of the disc hitting the target as the primary means of scoring the hole, making this invention superior to entrapment devices especially on holes with visual obstructions or long fairways.
There are several trends in the game that greatly increase the failure rate of entrapment target assemblies. One trend is the relatively modern small heavy discs (e.g., 21 cm in diameter, and 150 grams or more in weight) that are now the standard for most amateur and professional players. Additionally, new throwing techniques such that the disc hits the target almost perpendicular to the ground result in the occasional failure of a disc becoming entrapped. As a result there is a need for a more reliable target. Furthermore, the entrapment assemblies disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,189, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,484, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,143 are apparently for a fixed and stationary use such that portability of the entrapment assembly from one location to another is inconvenient. The entrapment assembly in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,845, though designed for portable use, is actually both awkward and cumbersome to setup and move around.